Herman Plachczinsky, Jewish DP charged with assaulting an officer during questioning several months ago by American constabulary troops, was today sentenced to six months imprisonment and a 5,000-mark fine by a U.S. military court.
The sentence came after a brief trial during which the prosecution produced three witnesses: Lieut. Enos Springer, who charged Plachczinsky with striking him, an American sergeant who described the questioning, but admitted that he had not witnessed the alleged assault and a German policeman who testified that he had seen the defendant strike Lieut. Springer. Plachczinsky and another DP testified for the defense denying the charges.
Earlier, Plachozinsky had agreed to be represented only by an American military counsel, since a DP counsel was not available. After the trial, the defense lawyer said that he would appeal the sentence to the military government headquarters at Munich.
The Plachozinsky case provoked a bitter exchange between Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon, chief of the American constabulary, and UNRRA authorities early this month, after eight Jewish DP’s, including Plachozinsky, charged that they had been beaten and otherwise mistreated during questioning by constabulary troops. Harmon charged UNRRA officials at the Landsberg Camp, where the eight DP’s reside, with protecting displaced Jews no matter what they did. The case is now being investigated by an inspector-general appointed by Army headquarters at Frankfurt.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
